Never Too Late
by lalala777
Summary: Coming back from World's end, there's unresolved tension. Fate and Love have decided to take an interesting twist tonight... Sparrabeth One-shot R&R AU


This story is inspired by the song "Never Too Late" by Three Days Grace. Some people will not see how they fit together at all, some will. It's really how you look at it.

Again, my stories aren't that good, but I love to get my ideas out. Review if you have any comments on how to make it better! Thanks for reading my decrepit work!

Disclaimer: We worship the Mouse. It owns all!

**Never Too Late**

"_The truth that many people never understand, until it is too late, is that the more you try to avoid suffering the more you suffer because smaller and more insignificant things begin to torture you in proportion to your fear of being hurt"_

_Thomas Merton_

It was a stormy night on the Pearl. The wind was whistling, waves were breaking desperately against the hull and the sides of the infamous black-sailed ship.

In fact, the mood of the sea somehow reflected its occupants, especially down below. Will and Elizabeth were having a screaming match, the crew and Barbossa were restless, and Jack Sparrow was drinking himself into a stupor.

"Why do you never talk to me anymore, Will?" Elizabeth screamed.

"Maybe if you weren't his whore…"

"I am not Jack Sparrow's whore!"

"How did you know I was talking about him then? Do you want to be his _company_, Elizabeth?" Will sneered.

"Perhaps I do! It would be better to be used by Jack then to be tied to you for the rest of my life!"

"You know, sometimes Elizabeth, I wonder if you ever loved me at all."

Elizabeth tried to evade the question. She knew if she had to answer truthfully, he was right. But she was too goddamn angry at the moment to care. "Sometimes I wonder Will, if you ever saw me as anything but a governor's daughter and a pretty face."

She raised her hand as if to strike him, then seemed to change her mind. 'He's not even worth it.'

She took her engagement ring off and threw it in the general direction of his face. "Consider our relationship void, Mr. Turner."

"Couldn't be more pleased to, Miss Swann," Will's eyes grew cold and hard.

Elizabeth stalked out of their cabin, and started to walk in the direction of the extra cabin. She was positive Mr. Gibbs would let her use it for the night until she found other sleeping arrangements. Then, changing direction on a whim, she headed for the deck.

(Jack)

Jack Sparrow was incredibly drunk, and that was quite a feat for him. And it was all because of his utterly charming murderess. 'If only I hadn't fallen in love with her,' He thought bitterly.

Yes, he was in love with Elizabeth Swann. He had suddenly realized it about three bottles ago. And the horrible part was, he was absolutely certain she did not love him back.

'Stupid William Turner,' he thought. 'Steals away a pirate's only chance at happiness. What a eunuch.'

Jack needed something to occupy his mind with-other than the captivating Miss Swann that is. However, the only thing he could think of in his rum-muddled brain was to go and check out the Pearl, now second in his heart, and see how she was holding up. In the middle of a storm.

On deck.

(On deck)

"Does no one care for me anymore?" Elizabeth shouted at the top of her lungs, standing on top of the railing, clinging to the rigging as the ship pitched and rose in the incensed waves. She stared down into the black abbess, as if trying to challenge it, conquer it, and take it as her own. Yet she also looked as though she was trying to comfort it, soothe it, and bring it peace. She needed peace, to stop this awful urge that was growing inside her.

_Jump…_

"My father is dead, James is with Beckett, Jack hates me, and now Will feels the same. Will you spare me no mercy God, or Calypso, or whatever it is I'm supposed to be worshipping nowadays?" She laughed almost sadistically.

"I hardly ever loved James, that's not a big deal. Will is a whelp, a jerk, and only sees me as a girl in a doll dress with a delicately painted face."

She sighed and hung her head. "And then there's Jack. Oh Jack! If you only ever knew how much I long for you! Sending you to your death was the hardest thing I've ever done, and it was because I was too much of a coward to admit to myself how ardently I loved you! And then we brought you back from the Locker, and –oh Jack- you looked at me with such hatred that I wanted to end my life then and there. Life without you, Jack, is not a life worth living. Unfortunately, I blew my chances with you when I chained you to the mast. You'll be happy once I've gone. Always your charming murderess, darling."

As she went to step to her death, she paused, thinking she heard footsteps. Elizabeth turned and shrugged; there was no one there.

"No one cares; your life is simply not worth living," She told herself.

She stepped and fell into the abbess she called freedom.

(Jack)

He had, of course, heard the entire monologue. His heart swelled when she said she loved him. Unfortunately , he was too much enveloped in Aphrodite's bliss that he barely saw her cruelty. But he did.

Luckily, Jack Sparrow was a fast runner.

He caught her by her fingers and she looked up confused, wondering why she wasn't dead yet. There was Captain Jack Sparrow, in all his glory, saving her…

…Wait, saving her?

"Let go Jack," She cried, "Let me die!"

Then he said two words that changed her life. Changed her perspective on life. Scenarios flashed in and out of her mind, like pictures in a photo album. Images of Jack and her living happily ever after, not having a care in the world, sailing and finally catching that horizon…

"I care!" he yelled down towards her, his entire body tense, his eyes smoldering, yet desperate and full of love for the lady that was clutching onto his hand for dear life.

_Life was dear to her again._

He somehow managed to yank her up so that her torso was on the railing, and just her legs were hanging off the side. They fumbled for a moment, and then she was able to lock her arms around his neck. Their lips finally met in one electrifying, dizzying, and passionate moment.

Lizzie's mouth moved slowly and deeply over Jack's, savoring the feeling. The pirate captain wanted her so badly, so much it hurt to breathe, hurt to live. They both found so much more in the kiss then they had planned on; they knew that, no matter what happened in the near, battle-worn future, they would stay together. That is, until death do them part.

"Lizzie!" he cried when he broke the kiss. "Ever since I saved you from that corset, I've loved you! It'll never be too late for us, Elizabeth, I swear that to you."

He was taking a huge risk saying these words; it was the first time he's opened up to someone in a very long time.

"Ever since you wrapped that chain around my neck, I've loved you too!" Elizabeth Swann smiled genuinely, for the first time since she'd gone on these pirate adventures. In fact you could say she even laughed a bit. However, life isn't fair, no matter what you do and how you act.

_Life was too cruel, Fate was too harsh._

_Vita non est, vivere sed valere, vita est_

The tragic couple learned that saying quickly, for they suddenly had something worth living for. Unfortunately, all it took was one wave, one second of wrong footing…

And Lizzie tumbled overboard, headlong into the vast, all-consuming ocean. Her last words: I love you, Jack.

And like Romeo with Juliet, although perhaps the roles were reversed, could he do anything but follow?

So marks the end of a fairytale, a love story none could match. The star-crossed Caribbean lovers did nothing wrong. It was just a wrong twist in Fate, a hidden side of love. So was their story a fairytale?

(Deserted Island)

A day later, two joined bodies washed up onto the shore. A pale, blond female and a gypsy-colored male. They were as entwined as two beings could possibly be; they had died clinging to one another. Beautiful?

Beauty is a matter of perspective.

_Love is a matter of perspective._

(Notes)

Hope you enjoyed! You can decide where it goes from here; they can live, for all my limited imagination cares.

Translation for the Latin: "Life is more than merely staying alive."

I love Jack's line "Cruel is a matter of perspective" in AWE as you can notice. It really made me think about Davy Jones during his death scene. R&R!

Love,

Lalala777


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